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OLYMPOS & THE FIRES OF CHIMAERA



This excursion is avaiable from Belek, Lara, Kemer

Duration: Half a day
Includes: Transport, Guide, Entrance fees to Olympos & Chimaera
Does not include: Drinks, Lunch
Restrictions: This tour may not be suitable for guests with walking difficulties and pregnant women.
Pick up time: 13:00 - 14:30
Drop Off Time: 18:30 - 19:30
Operated: From May to December

Excursion for: Families & Adults
Excursion Type: History, Culture, Water, Adventure

One of the most exciting excursions in the nature as well as in history. The ancient site of Olympos dates back to Hellenistic times when it was an important Lycian city and became famous as a place of worship honouring Hephaestos or Vulcan, the God of Fire. Located on a beautiful sandy bay, the ruins are spread out on either side of the Ulupinar River and include a Byzantine bathhouse with mosaic floors, a marble temple entrance, a theatre, and some excavated tombs. The shoreline is also a major protected nesting site for sea turtles. On the rocky slopes above the ancient city are a series of eternal flames issuing from cracks in the rock, caused by the combustion of natural gas seeping out of the mountain. It is possible to extinguish them briefly, but they will always re-ignite and are most impressive in the dark when at their most visible. The fire that comes out of the ground is said to be coming from the mouth of Chimaera, a mythical fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a snake’s tail, who was slain by the Lydian hero, Bellerophon on his winged horse, Pegasus.

Olympos is an ancient city which is located in a valley at the south coast of Turkey, 90 km southwest of Antalya city near the Town of Kumluca. The former city of Olympos was founded in the Hellenistic period, presumably taking its name from nearby Mount Olympos,one of overtwenty mountains with the name Olympos in the Classical world.

Çirali is most famous for the Chimera, a natural eternal flame located on a mountainside at the north end of Çirali village. The flames are burning a sort of methane gas that has been venting from the earth on this rocky slope for thousands of years.